Cabinet for a heating appliance with integrated viewing window

ABSTRACT

A cabinet for a heating appliance. The cabinet has an integrated viewing window to permit inspection of the interior components of the appliance. The viewing window comprises an elongate transparent viewing member integrated into the cabinet. The viewing member is generally aligned with a burner or burner tray of the appliance such that the functionality and operation of the burner or burners can be viewed and inspected exterior to the cabinet. The viewing member is positioned at an angle relative to both the top and the front surfaces to facilitate the viewing and inspection of the burners through the viewing member and from an elevated position in front of the cabinet.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/566,257, filed on Dec. 31, 2011, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

This invention relates generally to the field of furnaces, boilers and other heating appliances, and in particular to a new and unique viewing window providing visual access into the interior of such devices.

BACKGROUND

Furnaces, boilers and other similar heating devices that are used for residential and/or commercial heating purposes commonly utilize natural gas or propane as a combustible substance from which heat is generated. To minimize operating costs, and to reduce the production of greenhouse and other noxious gases that are by-products of the burning of fossil fuels, manufacturers have developed what are referred to as “high efficiency” or “ultra-high efficiency” furnaces. Such furnaces tend to have multiple burners, that in some cases may be used in association with modulating gas valves.

In some instances manufacturers of furnaces, boilers and similar devices incorporate a viewing port within the cabinet of the device to permit a technician or repairman to look into the interior of the furnace in order to inspect the flame. Such viewing or access ports have thus far tended to be small, generally circular, viewing windows that provide a very limited ability to visually inspect the flame of one of the burners in multiple burner assembly. They tend to provide neither a homeowner nor a repairman with the ability to determine much more than whether or not there is a flame present, short of removing the front panel of the furnace. Removing the front panel of the furnace not only involves time and related expense, but in some instances it can subject the flame to the effects of exterior airflow which could alter its burning characteristics. The removal of the front panel or door also exposes the homeowner and/or the repairman to the interior workings of the furnace, which may include moving parts or components that are electrified. In some instances removal of the front door of the furnace requires the use of hand tools.

In furnaces where the front panel is comprised of a single door, removal of that door can trip a blower switch resulting in a loss of power to the blower motor, which can also often result in a loss of power directed to the gas valve and a subsequent extinguishing of the flame. In such instances a repairman will often need to re-engage the door switch when the door has been removed in order to “trick” the furnace into thinking that the panel is fully and properly installed.

There is thus a need for an improved cabinet that addresses some of the deficiencies in currently available products.

SUMMARY

The invention therefore provides a cabinet for a heating appliance with an integrated viewing window.

In one of its aspects the invention provides a cabinet for a heating appliance, said cabinet having an integrated viewing window to permit inspection of the interior components of the appliance, the viewing window comprising an elongate transparent viewing member integrated into said cabinet, said viewing member generally aligned with a burner or burner tray of the appliance such that the functionality and operation of the burner or burners can be viewed and inspected exterior to said cabinet, said viewing member positioned at an angle relative to both the top and the front surfaces to facilitate the viewing and inspection of the burners through said viewing member and from an elevated position in front of said cabinet.

Further aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken together with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show more clearly how it may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings which show exemplary embodiments of the present invention in which:

FIG. 1 is an upper side perspective view of a furnace cabinet with an integrated viewing window in accordance with one of the embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the furnace cabinet shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the furnace cabinet shown in FIG. 1; and,

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the furnace cabinet shown in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION

The present invention may be embodied in a number of different forms. However, the specification and drawings that follow describe and disclose only some of the specific forms of the invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention as defined in the claims that follow herein.

With reference to the attached Figures, there is shown generally a cabinet 1 for a heating appliance. In the embodiment depicted the heating appliance is a gas furnace although from a thorough understanding of the invention it will be appreciated that cabinet could be for a boiler or other hearing appliance and that other fuel sources could be utilized. Cabinet 1 is comprised of an upper surface 2, side surfaces 3 and 4, a front surface 5, a bottom panel 6 and a rear panel 9. It will also be appreciated that although the furnace cabinet shown in the attached drawings is generally in the form of a rectangular box other geometric configurations could equally be utilized. Cabinet 1 will typically include an upper opening 7 in communication with the interior of the furnace such that a plenum can be attached to opening 7 to allow airflow to be directed through the furnace, upwardly over and around the heat exchanger, through opening 7 and into an air duct system. It will be further appreciated that although not shown in the attached drawings, furnace 1 will include the standard components utilized in gas furnaces, including a heat exchanger, gas valve, burners and burner tray, blower and blower motor, control system, sensors, igniter, draft blower, etc.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention there is provided within furnace cabinet 1 a viewing window or viewing member 8 that permits the visual inspection of interior components of the furnace, from a position exterior to the cabinet and without the necessity of having to remove the cabinet door. Viewing window 8 is preferably an elongate transparent viewing member that would typically be formed from glass, transparent plastic or a transparent polycarbonate material. The viewing window may be hermetically sealed within the cabinet. As shown in the attached Figures, viewing window 8 is preferably oriented laterally across the furnace and is generally aligned with the burners/burner tray to permit the functionality and operation of the burners to be viewed and inspected from outside of the cabinet. The positioning, orientation and nature of the viewing member permits all of the burners and generally the entire burner tray to be viewed simultaneously, thereby allowing each individual burner to be inspected to determine whether it is functioning properly and whether there is proper combustion. It will also be appreciated that the structure and functionality of the viewing member 8 will in addition permit a repairman to easily and quickly visually inspect a variety of other components within the furnace cabinet. Such components would typically include the igniter, the gas valve, electrical wiring, etc.

It will be noted that in the particular embodiment shown in the attached drawings viewing window 8 transitions between the top and front surfaces of the furnace cabinet and is positioned at an angle relative to both top 2 and front surface 5, thus being inclined to the horizontal. In the enclosed drawings the angle of viewing window 8 is approximately 45 degrees, however, various other angles could be utilized and the invention is not meant to be limited to a specific angle of inclination. In most instances it is expected that the angle of viewing window 8 will be from approximately 20 to approximately 70 degrees from the horizontal, however, as mentioned, it will be appreciated that shallower or steeper angles could also potentially work, depending largely on the nature, configuration and size of the cabinet and the configuration and orientation of the burners and other components within the cabinet. In an alternate embodiment of the invention the viewing window does not transition between the top and front surfaces of the cabinet, but instead is positioned within either the top or the front surfaces and inclined relative thereto.

Positioning viewing member 8 at an angle to both the top 2 and the front surface of the furnace cabinet permits a visual inspection through the window without requiring one to bend over on hands and knees to look through a small vertically oriented opening in the furnace cabinet. The angle of the viewing window also presents the ability to view additional interior components of the appliance that often cannot be viewed with currently available appliances. It will be appreciated that the unique positioning and structure of viewing member 8 will result in a glowing light being emitted through the window and cast into the room in which the furnace is situated when the burners are on. Such a structure allows a homeowner to instantly determine whether the furnace is functioning. Through the nature of the glow emanating through the window the homeowner or service technician can also determine whether the burners are operating properly, or whether there may be one or more burners that are partially or completely malfunctioning. The light from the burners shining thorough the viewing member or window also serves to provide ambient light within the room where the furnace is situated, acting as a secondary light source. Further, since the majority of currently available high efficiency gas furnaces are relatively small in stature (often between 3 and 4 feet in height) the nature of viewing member 8 and its inclined angle permits a visual inspection of the functionality and operation of the burners and other interior components of the furnace through merely standing in an upright position in front or to one side of the furnace. Viewing member 8 removes the necessity to crouch down on hands and knees and look through small access ports and further eliminates the necessity to remove any doors or panels of the furnace in order to provide full visual access to the entire burner tray.

It is to be understood that what has been described are the preferred embodiments of the invention and that it may be possible to make variations to these embodiments while staying within the broad scope of the invention. Some of these variations have been discussed while others will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. 

We claim:
 1. A cabinet for a heating appliance, said cabinet having an integrated viewing window to permit inspection of the interior components of the appliance, the viewing window comprising an elongate transparent viewing member integrated into said cabinet, said viewing member generally aligned with a burner or burner tray of the appliance such that the functionality and operation of the burner or burners can be viewed and inspected exterior to said cabinet, said viewing member positioned at an angle relative to both the top and the front surfaces to facilitate the viewing and inspection of the burners through said viewing member and from an elevated position in front of said cabinet.
 2. The cabinet as claimed in claim 1 wherein said viewing member transitions between the top and front surfaces of said cabinet.
 3. The cabinet as claimed in claim 2 wherein said angle is from 20 to 70 degrees.
 4. The cabinet as claimed in claim 2 wherein said angle is from 30 to 60 degrees.
 5. The cabinet as claimed in claim 2 wherein said angle is 45 degrees.
 6. The cabinet as claimed in claim 2 wherein said viewing member is comprised of glass, transparent plastic or transparent polycarbonate.
 7. The cabinet as claimed in claim 2 wherein said viewing member is hermetically sealed within said furnace cabinet.
 8. The cabinet as claimed in claim 2 wherein said appliance is a gas furnace or boiler.
 9. The cabinet as claimed in claim 8 wherein said viewing member is oriented laterally across said furnace or boiler cabinet, said viewing member permitting the simultaneous inspection of all burners of the furnace or boiler well as the igniter and gas valve.
 10. The cabinet as claimed in claim 9 wherein said viewing member causes light generated by the burners of the furnace or boiler to be cast into the ambient surroundings of the furnace or boiler to act as a secondary light source. 